Left Behind: Eternal Forces PC Preview

[Akeldama]

The appointment I was most looking forward to at E3 this year was with the good people of Left Behind Games. I've been fascinated by the growth in the Christian games industry and in particular the prospect of this particular book/movie series becoming a game. The controversial Left Behind book series is rather interesting, especially in the way it has managed to become such a huge hit among Christians despite the odd theology espoused in Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins' novels.


Wanton destruction will lower the spirit of your troops which means they will be less effective. Killing is part of the game but not taken lightly. Dead bodies persist on the map showing the results of another battle. The player can click on the corpses to read a biography of the slain. Each of these biographies has been individually written and often feature tragic stories of why that person fought for the enemy. There's great scope for emotional involvement here in showing the motivations and history of characters on either side and not just viewing enemies as cannon fodder. It's unique aspects such as this that give the impression Eternal Forces is more than a Christian propaganda tool.
You can read the whole of the Left Behind: Eternal Forces preview (http://pc.boomtown.net/en_uk/articles/art.view.php?id=11428) over at Boomtown.net.

[Abednigo]

I haven't read the books, and I've only seen part of the first movie when it was on TV a few months back. I don't see the facination. The parts of the movie I saw were totally lame. People have said over the years that certain movies would give "Christian movies" more respect in the public eye, but then you have pieces of crap like The Omega Code and the Left Behind movies, and it's no wonder people laugh at them. I can't imagine the games being any better. As a Christian myself it's embarassing. I can see why so many Christians who form bands don't want that label as a "Christian band" (like Underoath, Mute Math, POD, etc). Anything slapped with that label is given another label. Crap.

[Sl1pstream]

It's a generic RTS that uses prayers to heal your troops. No thank you.

[Akeldama]

I agree with you. I'm sick of seeing crap bands succeed in the Christian ghetto just because they are Christian. Some people really will buy any old crap just because it supposedly is made by people who share their faith.

[GunnyMo]

Best. Christian. Band. Ever. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Rock_Hard)

They nailed it on the head with that one. :D

[Citizen Philip]

I think I read a biography of one of the people you get kill in the name of Christian zeal:

"This is the body of Alan Pang. Alan was a nice person who donated his time and and money to help the homeless and feed the poor. Because Alan was a godless heathen of a non-specific Asian religious tradition: he getsto burn in hell for being an unbeliever. Do you want to burn in hell forever?"

[GunnyMo]

lol ah religious right...where would we be without your racist humor. Praise Him!

[captainspankypants]

As an RTS game based on a book/franchise, it seems pretty generic and by-the-book. As a Christian teaching tool, it fails miserably. Killing random people lowers a "spirit meter"? This is NOT looking at killing from any kind of moral viewpoint, it's just turning it into another game mechanic, just like most other games. At least games like KOTOR provide enough story, characterization, and setup to make it feel like your moral choices mean something. If what this preview says is correct, it sounds like you could just choose to never read about the dead people's back stories and pray a lot to counter any killing you do. There's no morality to it at all.

Not that I really care if gamers get a moral lesson or not. I'm just saying that if that's their goal, they're not even close to meeting it.

[torrefaction]

Kill the heathens in the name of Jesus!

I wonder what the reaction would be if they made a Jihad: 70 Virgins game.

[JediSanf]

Kill the heathens in the name of Jesus!

I wonder what the reaction would be if they made a Jihad: 70 Virgins game.

Even better, mod this game into Jihad: 70 Vigins.

Also, shouldn't this game be rated M for "Apocalyptic depictions and divine genocide"?

[pseudopseudo]

If they REALLY wanted to convert more people to Christianity, they HAVE to pick someone better than Kirk Cameron. C'mon, KIRK CAMERON? His sister's hot, and that's about the only pro I can think of.

Sorry, back to the thread, it does look horribly mediocre. And I think the Jihad-mod (that rolls off the tongue) needs to happen.

[The_Darr]

im just taken back that this game wasn't a joke--i honestly thought it was when it was first announced. good luck selling this guys...

[Balth Maligne]

Jesus is rumored to have amazing micro skillez.